The What, Why and How of Popular AppsMaia Klee A new wave of apps is sweeping through our daily lives. Whether it’s parents wearily scrolling through the “grocery store app”, teenage girls sending Snapchats, or just a bent head playing Candy Crush with frantic concentration, it seems everywhere one looks, apps are front and center. “Gaming has always been prevalent as a form of entertainment. From XBox to Wiis,” says Adrian Capobianco, a consultant in app development, marketing, and social media. The only difference now is that these games are mobile." Perhaps the attraction of apps is their convenience and simplicity. Now, electronic games are accessible wherever you are. Says Larry Dunkleman, developer of the OC Transpo app, “ People seem to like games that are clean. They like games that are simple.” “Gaming is the number one uses for apps, social media is number two,” says Capobianco. Marketing of social media and apps are correlated. “All the big social media platforms have apps. It creates accessibility. It can store a lot of content,” says Dunkleman. The terms of success in social media are a bit different from apps however. Says Capobianco “you need to provide your users with a unique experience. Someone trying to make a new Facebook would flop. But Snapchat is the hottest new thing. It’s becoming more and more difficult because there’s so many platforms.”

The rise of social media has been universally accepted as an immense change in our culture, our lives, and the way in which we communicate. (It has also been said to be a large time waster.) Have apps also drastically changed our culture? Capobiano argues no. “Social media is the platform. Apps enable us to easily access that platform.” Apps are more functional. They perform tasks. We rarely use them to connect. Rather, they make the internet more accessible. There is no doubt, however, that this easy access to mobile functions is changing the way we do things. Why do people like apps? Why do certain apps become popular? Brief interviews with students from Canterbury High School answer a few of these questions. A pattern in successful gaming apps is that they tend to be temporarily addicting. “I can’t stop playing (Candy Crush) so I guess I’m addicted.” says high school student Harriet Bramwell. “You want to play more because it’s challenging. When you lose, you want to win, so you just keep playing.” Still, the addiction doesn’t seem to last. “People tend to stop buying apps pretty soon” says Dunkleman. “They get bored, they beat the levels, they move on.” When teens at Canterbury High School were asked how soon they got bored of game apps, the responses varied between one and two weeks.

What is the secret of a successful app? How to create that “temporary addiction” if only for a week or two? In terms of gaming apps, holding the prize just out of reach seems to be a factor. However, many popular apps, such as the infamous “toilet paper app” in which the player simply “unrolls” the toilet paper as fast as possible to get to the bottom, seem too pointless to capture any interest- and yet, they reach soaring download rates. While social media allows us to connect, apps must have a specific useful function, or maybe just offer an appealing outlet for distraction. “For apps to be successful, they have to have specific value to the user, or they tie into the functionality of the phone; for example Shazam (an app by which one can put their phone microphone up to a song, the phone will analyze the music and tell you the name of the song).” Says Capobianco. In short, a successful app will give you what websites can’t. But developing a successful app doesn’t necessarily come with a big financial reward. “Apps have a low profit margin,” says Dunkleman, “By the time you’ve factored in the price of the software, and the equipment necessary to program it, you haven’t made much money. People don’t want to spend money on apps, especially when there are always free ones available.” While some apps use advertising to make a profit, many app developers create apps simply because they enjoy it. Says Dunkleman; “I’ve been doing this for a while. I’ve designed a few apps. It’s something I love doing.” Despite their quick popularity, apps are in decline in favor of mobile devices, says Capobianco. Websites are altered to best suit the device and adjust its settings for maximum convenience.

With a generation of people already glued to their screens, apps are a great tool with which to use mobile devices to their greatest efficiency. With app development soaring forward, one can only speculate as to what the future of apps and mobile websites may hold.

#ConnectedYouthMichal Leckie “Those who do not move do not feel their chains,” a teenage girl posted on Facebook. The use of social media in the lives of youth ranges from discussing math homework to making plans with friends to sharing noteworthy thoughts. In 2013, there are over 500 million Facebook users worldwide, according to an article by Charles Arthur and Jemina Kiss [The Guardian]. 94% of teenagers have a Facebook account, according to research done by Greg Sterling. Why do youth use social media networks? Have youth become so accustomed to social media that they have forgotten to move a little, so as not to feel the chains? Youth use social media to feel connected, but the tether connecting youth shouldn’t turn into chains. Leo Holton, a young social media user, says that he has Facebook “because generally all the people at school are on it and you get kind of confused if you don’t have it.” After talking with many students who are social media users, the primary reason for being connected is communication. Teens find it easier and more efficient to communicate through social media networks. Social media makes communication fast and simple. If you want to ask a friend about homework, you can. If you want to plan a group event, it’s easy. Leslie Regan Shade, a researcher in social media and communication technology, and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, says that “[social media] is a way that we can cheaply keep connected with each other, a way of communicating, and we all want to communicate.” Social media has even been integrated into classrooms. Homework is written on Facebook groups; if students have questions about class, peers will answer on Facebook. Tate Holm, a youth social media user, says that she “wouldn’t know what was going on in any classes” without social media. Sports schedules for school sports are posted on Facebook. How do the 6% of youth social media non-users feel surrounded by friends who constantly use social media? The increased use of social media in schools not only makes it harder for non-users to feel connected with their friends, but also with their school community. The use of social media on non-users hinders their ability to feel involved with the school. Erin Jackson, a student non-user says that her teachers say that they will update answers on Facebook. Jackson feels confused of what to do without that aid. Teens strive for a perfect image, both physical and social, and through social media, this is simple: pick the best pictures; edit messages sent to friends; be shown as flawless. Of course, when youth get so accustomed to editing their responses, they lose the incredibly important ability to talk face to face. Holm says, “People are losing their ability to speak like humans. People say things like ‘lol’, ‘yolo’, ‘hashtag.’ They aren’t words.” Emily Fowler, another non-user says “[she] prefers talking to people face to face.” She’s a fan of Facelook, as she puts it. As an experiment, I deactivated my Facebook account and went on a “Facebook Fast”. The hardest part was communication. My friends planned social events without me and explanations for schoolwork were lost. Overall, I felt disconnected, which was difficult, but it also gave me a new perspective towards social media networks. I felt in some way “free” because I didn’t feel dependent and tethered. It was interesting experiencing and learning new ways to connect with people. I remarked on how much more time I had without the constant desire to “connect.” Slowly, some chain links were broken: I didn’t feel the need to see what my friends were up to. Other chain links stayed strong: I felt disconnected from my friends and what was going on at school. The most common use for social media among youth is communication. However, youth also talk about what’s for breakfast, post pictures that they won’t want to be public in a year, and spend hours reading such posts. Social media often becomes a “place” to go when nowhere else is interesting, as opposed to a network of communication. Social media is sucking youth out of the real world and bringing them into a virtual one: a world where youth can only stay for so long before bars must be broken. Youth have lost their ability to move, to feel the chains, and to break them.